Oʻahu-based actor Kaipo Dudoit has appeared in “Rescue: HI-Surf” (2025), “My Partner” (2023) and “Magnum P.I.” (2020), among other film credits. Now, he adds the role of David Kawena in Disney’s live action version of “Lilo & Stitch,” which debuts on May 23.
It is a role he dreamed of since he watched the animated version of the film as a child, when he would mimic the animated character voiced by Jason Scott Lee, who makes a cameo appearance in the movie.
The live action movie follows the journey of Lilo, a young girl in search of a friend who finds a partner-in-crime in the mischievous blue alien, Stitch. Dudoit plays the love interest of Lilo’s older sister, Nani, who is also her guardian.
“I really wanted to embody his character while I was growing up,” Dudoit told Aloha State Daily. “He treats everyone with aloha and has a heart of gold.”
The character was “definitely a positive male role model for me while growing up,” he added, sharing that a lot of movies and shows portray local people in a negative way but this role was different.
The live action version of “Lilo & Stitch" includes several actors and actresses who were born and raised in the Hawaiian Islands, including Maia Kealoha of Hawai'i Island as Lilo, Sydney Agudong of Kaua'i as Nani, and Tia Carrere of O'ahu as Mrs. Kekoa, their social worker, among others.
Dudoit comes from a musical family. His father, Horace Dudoit III, is part of Ho’okena, which has won a number of Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards.
Dudoit shared he felt “very honored, very blessed and grateful” to be part of this movie, he told ASD.
“What a great way to showcase Hawaiʻi with this story and the story of Hawaiʻi's culture and its people,” he added. “And the idea of ʻohana and how ʻohana will carry you through tough times.”
He learned he got the role while working another job.
“I was working at a health center, and I was in between patients,” he said. “I got a call from my manager. I cried. Called my mom. We both cried. And then, I had to go back to work. It was a crazy day, and I couldn't tell anybody — well, except for my mom.”
Originally, Dudoit had wanted to be a musician. He still remembers when he decided to be an actor.
“That moment was: I was in my seat in a theater in college and I was watching a play,” he said. “It took me out of my body, basically. It transported me into a different place, and at that moment, I knew that I wanted to be a part of that kind of magic that was happening on stage.”
Disney previously announced music for the movie, which includes the return of Kumu Hula Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu and Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus, as well as the addition of Iam Tongi and the North-Shore-based brothers Nyjah Music & Zyah Rhythm singing a song reproduced by their uncle, Bruno Mars. Get tickets.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
